Latest news with #salesandmarketing
Forbes
16-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Understanding What Truly Counts As Conversion
Ron R. Browning is the CEO of Intellibright, a leading Austin-based digital marketing agency and multiyear winner of the Inc. 5000 award. Consider this common scenario: On paper, your marketing performance looks strong. Cost per lead (CPL) is down, impressions are up and your ad platform shows conversions are rising. But then you talk to your sales team and learn that appointments are flat, proposals are down and revenue is behind forecast. Marketing might report hundreds of conversions, but when the sales team vets those leads, only a fraction become sales-qualified. You're left wondering, "What's the disconnect here?" In my experience as CEO of a digital marketing agency, that disconnect usually exists because the company's marketing and sales teams are tracking performance in separate systems and defining success in different ways. Without a shared view of what counts as a qualified conversion, the numbers can end up telling very different stories. How are sales and marketing measuring outcomes? Many marketing teams define success based on what Google and Meta report. These ad platforms might count a form-fill as a conversion, and agencies often choose the easiest metric to hit (even when those actions were never quality leads) because it lowers cost per conversion (CPC). When that happens, two things typically go wrong: First, reporting gets inflated. Second, it creates a cycle that corrupts the company's ad platforms. Counting all phone calls or unqualified form-fills as conversions feeds Google and Meta the wrong signals, which can misguide optimization and distort how success is measured. Meanwhile, sales teams typically use customer relationship management (CRM) software to evaluate lead quality. Leads that don't fit the ideal customer profile (ICP), that show spammy behavior, or that fall outside the target market are usually disqualified. The leads that do get accepted—sales-qualified leads (SQLs)—are the ones the sales team wants more of. They have the right title, location and intent. Ideally, this is what ad platforms should optimize toward. However, many businesses don't have their CRM connected to their ad platforms. That gap can cause marketing to keep optimizing based on CPC or CPL without knowing which leads actually move forward in the funnel. Even once the disconnect is clear, fixing it can take more technical skill than teams expect. They need to be able to map sales outcomes to ad sources, clean the data and manage attribution across systems. Without that foundation, the marketing team may stay disconnected from revenue and continue optimizing for the wrong outcomes. What counts as conversion? In my experience, the first step to overcoming this disconnect is making sure your marketing and sales teams are aligned on what qualifies as a conversion. A 'Contact Us' form might show curiosity, but it's a low-intent signal that doesn't indicate real buying interest. Instead, train your teams to track high-intent actions. I've found that the most effective approaches involve tracking multiple conversion events, from early signals like inbound requests to later outcomes like SQLs or proposals. Capturing this range can help ad platforms adjust faster even when your sales review process takes time. Examples of high-intent signals include: • Inbound Sales Request: A lead fills out a form or calls in and selects an option like 'schedule a consult' or 'request sales contact.' • SQL Logged Into The CRM: A rep confirms the lead is qualified and moves it into the pipeline. • Quote Or Demo Request: A prospect asks for pricing or product details, signaling serious interest. • Proposal Request: A lead follows up, requesting a proposal or contract. • Reengagement From Qualified Lead: A vetted prospect returns to restart the conversation. Once you've defined what counts as a qualified conversion, the next step is measuring how efficiently your marketing efforts are delivering results that impact your bottom line. These three metrics can help you connect marketing performance directly to pipeline and revenue: 1. Cost Per Qualified Lead (CPQL): Divide your total campaign spend by the number of SQLs. This shows how efficiently you're generating leads that Sales wants. A lower CPQL means better efficiency per dollar invested. 2. Return On Ad Spend (ROAS): This metric can provide clear insight into campaign profitability. Divide closed revenue from a campaign by ad spend. For example, a ROAS of 3:1 means $3 in revenue for every $1 spent. This can help you identify top-performing channels. 3. SQL-To-Close Rate: This metric reveals how effectively your sales team converts qualified leads into customers. Calculate it by dividing the number of closed deals by the total number of SQLs. In my experience, tracking this helps pinpoint whether issues stem from lead quality or sales execution. What trends influence data-driven operations? As more businesses reevaluate what counts as a meaningful conversion, many are also rethinking how they collect data, structure their tech stacks and adapt to a changing digital landscape. I've found that there are three primary trends shaping that shift: smarter attribution tools, the push for first-party data and a move toward simplified systems. Many marketing teams used to rely on last-click attribution or default platform reporting. Now, better tools are making it easier to understand how buyers naturally move through the funnel. For instance, AI-assisted journey-mapping can help you connect early-stage signals—like pricing page visits or repeat site activity—to later-stage outcomes like SQLs and closed deals. Teams can then use these insights to refine targeting, adjust spend to productive touchpoints and catch missed opportunities earlier. With the erosion of third-party cookies and privacy updates from Apple and others, marketers can no longer rely solely on outside data to guide targeting. Have your teams build rich, consent-based datasets collected through on-site behavior, CRM feedback and transaction history to personalize campaigns across the funnel. Attribution can get murky if data is moving across too many systems. Every handoff between platforms compounds the chance for data to be lost, misclassified or duplicated. Simplifying your tech stack can help you streamline reporting, making it easier to trace and tie qualified conversions to ROI. Turn structure into strategy. Many CMOs are having to do more with less this year. That kind of constraint makes accurate conversion tracking even more important. When resources are limited, precision matters. Changing how you operate by setting clear definitions for conversions, improving how your teams attribute outcomes and using performance data to guide decisions across teams can allow you to respond effectively to that pressure. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Forbes
11-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why B2B Sales And Marketing Need To Stop Aligning And Start Unifying
Sarah Goodall is CEO of Tribal Impact, a data-driven social media consulting company focused on B2B employee advocacy and social selling. For as long as I've worked in B2B, we've been talking about alignment (or lack of). Sales blames marketing for poor-quality leads and lack of brand awareness. Marketing blames sales for letting them go cold. It's a cycle that's been repeating for decades. But so much has changed. Buyer behavior has shifted dramatically, and the tools we use to engage them have advanced at speed. What hasn't changed quickly enough is how sales and marketing work together. At this point, alignment just doesn't go far enough. If we want to meet buyers where they are today, sales and marketing need to be unified. The Day One List Changes Everything There's one data point I keep coming back to. Research by Google/Bain revealed that '86% of B2B buyers have a Day One List' of three to five vendors, and 92% of those will purchase off that list. That means most buying decisions are made before a salesperson even gets a chance to speak to a customer. If you're not on that initial list, your opportunity to win the deal has already passed. And that's not something either sales or marketing can solve on their own. Getting on the list requires visibility, relevance and trust. It takes a consistent presence across channels, a strong point of view and meaningful engagement. Alignment Isn't Enough Anymore When we talk about sales and marketing alignment, we usually mean both teams are heading in the same direction. But in the digital-first B2B environment we work in now, that's no longer sufficient. Buyers don't follow a linear path from awareness to purchase. They research their day one list and get 70% of the way through the selection process before inviting vendors to a conversation. You don't call them, they call you! This new reality means sales and marketing can't afford to operate in silos. They need to work together, at the same time, on the same accounts, using the same data, insights and priorities. They need to build a strategy together. While we continue to talk about alignment, the disconnect is still visible in the data, and buyers are noticing. The Buying Process Has Become Harder For Everyone Nowadays, the average B2B decision involves 13 people and the average B2B purchase cycle now takes around 11.5 months. And even after all that time and all those involved in the process, 81% of B2B buyers are dissatisfied. They don't feel consulted or advised. All of this means that sales teams are facing larger buying groups resulting in longer sales cycles. At the same time, marketing teams are under pressure to deliver more with less. Gartner found that marketing budgets as a percentage of company revenue have dropped to 7.7% in 2024, a 15% decrease from the previous year. Add to that the growing difficulty in proving marketing's impact. Attribution is no longer straightforward. We're moving away from causation measurement to something more nuanced. Instead of 'do this, get that,' we're asking, 'We did this, what happened as a result?' This correlation-based thinking makes more sense in these complex buying environments, but it takes longer to prove and harder to communicate in QBRs. Sales And Marketing Each Bring Strengths If We Let Them Unification starts by recognizing the strengths both functions bring to the prospecting process. Sales bring empathy, persistence, active listening and problem solving. They're also familiar with cadences, processes and long-term relationship building. Marketing brings depth in audience insights and digital engagement. They understand brand messaging, positioning, targeting and nurturing. Their tech stack creates a lot of data, but turning it into actionable insights isn't always easy. Account-Based Social Selling Is Where It Comes Together Social is one of the most effective ways to bring marketing and sales together. It pushes both teams to be more focused, targeted and intentional, and account-based social selling is where this really comes to life. I've always felt something is missing in traditional account-based marketing: sales. Marketing build great campaigns and even generate meetings, but unless sales nurtured relationships as part of the process (unified), the impact is limited. With account-based social selling, both teams work in sync. Intent tools show which accounts are in-market, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator helps reps identify the right people. From there, marketing can see which accounts are already showing intent on the brand and deliver thought leadership content from experts within the company, straight into the feed through paid ads. These aren't cold leads, they already know your brand. So instead of starting from scratch, you can focus on engagement that builds trust and accelerates progress. The importance of this shared approach becomes even clearer when you look at LinkedIn's Circles of Boom study. It found there's only a 16% overlap in the audiences targeted by marketing and sales teams, a clear sign of what happens when the two teams don't stay connected and unified around the same accounts. The account-based social selling approach is smarter, efficient and far more effective. You're not spreading your budget thin, you're investing in the accounts that are in the market and that know your brand and where you have paths of introduction. Unification Starts With Shared Action If a B2B buyer is engaging with 13 pieces of content before they speak to a salesperson, then marketing should already be involved. If sales is actively pursuing an account, marketing should be supporting those efforts with paid awareness that's relevant and timely. That overlap should be closer to 100%, not 16%. Unification means sharing priorities, building programs together and measuring success in a connected way. It means showing up for the buyer as one brand and one team. Getting on the day one list won't happen with alignment alone. It will take unified thinking, unified execution and a shared commitment to the buyer experience. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Hospitality Net
26-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
Juan Carlos Rivera has been appointed Director of Sales & Marketing at The National Landing Hotel Crystal City in Arlington
The National Landing Hotel Crystal City has selected its executive leadership team to steer the fully renovated hotel through its transformative evolution. As Director of Sales and Marketing, Juan Carlos "J.C." Rivera is spearheading the property's strategic transformation to position the National Landing Hotel Crystal City as a premier destination in Northern Virginia. J.C. has held previous roles in launching and repositioning hotels, and brings nearly two decades of experience driving revenue growth, developing high-performing teams, creating meaningful connections, and transforming operations in highly competitive hospitality markets including Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., Miami, and Dallas. His ability to blend innovative data-driven sales strategies with hands-on leadership has successfully exceeded revenue goals. Formerly named the Marriott Crystal City at Reagan National Airport, the National Landing Hotel Crystal City remains fully operational throughout its property renovation. The addition of seven brand-new guest rooms thoughtfully designed with a sleek, minimalist aesthetic are the first completed product of the hotel's transformation. Perfect for the modern business or leisure traveler, these spacious, clutter-free rooms offer just the right essentials, creating a calm, comfortable retreat for a truly efficient and enjoyable stay in Arlington.
Japan Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Indians buy 14 million air conditioners a year, and need many more
Aarti Verma is about to join the growing ranks of Indians installing air conditioning, scraping together savings to secure relief from sometimes deadly temperatures that can reach nearly 50 Celsius. A record 14 million AC units were sold in India last year, with a ninefold increase in residential ownership forecast by midcentury. That will give millions safer and more comfortable conditions at work and home. But it will also drive demand for electricity that is generated mostly by burning climate-warming coal, and increase the hot AC exhaust air expelled into the country's stifling streets. For Verma, the priority is securing some immediate relief. Her sales and marketing work means she must visit multiple stores a day, battling blazing heat. "Coming home after a long day I want some comfort," said the 25-year-old, who earns 30,000 rupees ($350) a month and will pay 50,000 rupees ($584) to install air conditioning in her spartan two-room home. "Earlier I would sleep on the terrace, but these days it's so hot even in the night, AC has become a necessity," she said in a poor neighbourhood of Delhi. India is the world's fastest-growing AC market, despite only about seven percent of households currently owning units. Aarti Verma, who works as a junior sales and marketing personnel, cleans an air conditioner installed inside her house in New Delhi. | AFP-Jiji The boom could mean the world's most populous country needs to triple electricity production to meet demand, experts say. The nation of 1.4 billion people is already the world's third-biggest producer of climate-warming greenhouse gases, burning through one billion tonnes of coal in 2024-25, according to a government statement. Brutal summer "AC penetration across India is primarily driven by weather conditions, a growing middle class, favorable consumer financing options and widespread electrification," said K.J. Jawa, the India chief of Japanese AC manufacturer Daikin. "Today, ACs are no longer regarded as a luxury indulgence, but a productivity and need investment — as a good night sleep is imperative for our mental and physical wellness," he said. Verma had to pay 13,000 rupees ($150) as a down payment, with the rest divided over monthly installments. "I could have bought gold with that money which would have been a good investment but I gave priority to the AC," she said. According to the meteorological department, 2024 was India's hottest year since thorough records began in 1901, with sizzling temperatures following a global pattern of extreme weather driven by climate change. A heatwave in May 2024 in New Delhi saw temperatures match the capital's previous record high: 49.2 Celsius (120.5 Fahrenheit) clocked in 2022. The brutal summer heat can melt tarmac on the roads and puts millions of people at risk, with nearly 11,000 people dying due to heat stroke in India between 2012 and 2021, according to government data. Public health experts say the true number of heat-related deaths is likely in the thousands but because heat is often not listed as a reason on a death certificate, many casualties don't get counted in official figures. Aarti Verma saved from her meager earnings to buy an air conditioner, one among millions in India turning to cool comfort despite worries that ACs are making the world hotter. | AFP-Jiji Ironically, the refrigerants inside AC units and the coal-generated electricity that powers them only exacerbate global warming. Widespread AC use also raises outdoor temperatures by expelling indoor heat. Studies — including by the World Health Organization and UN-Habitat — show that the heat-generating motors inside AC units can themselves push up temperatures in urban areas by a degree Celsius or more. Energy ratings Before buying an AC, Verma relied on a traditional air cooler — a noisy fan-run device that blows cool air off water-soaked pads. But filling the cooler with water and making sure it did not become a haven for disease-carrying mosquitoes required great effort. Sales are brisk at Imperial Refrigeration in Delhi's old quarters, with a steady stream of customers braving the afternoon heat. Japsahib Singh Ahuja, 22, whose family owns the 50-year-old business, said sales have more than tripled in the last five years, thanks to first-time consumers and AC "replacement cycles." "ACs these days don't last long, because there are so many pollutants in Delhi air that lead to corrosion and gas leakage from the equipment," he explained. Delhi and the surrounding metropolitan area, home to more than 30 million people, consistently top world rankings for air pollution. Air conditioning will account for a quarter of India's emissions and nearly half nationwide peak electricity demand by 2050, according to the UN Environment Programme's Cool Coalition. But India has so far declined to sign up to the coalition's Global Cooling Pledge to reduce the sector's climate impact. Still, there are signs of hope, with Indians increasingly buying energy-efficient AC units, according to Ahuja. Energy-saving inverter ACs now dominate the market, and companies set a default temperature of 24 degrees Celsius. "Energy ratings are now mandatory," said Ahuja. "We will surely see long-term benefits."
Hospitality Net
12-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
Edvena Perpetual D'Souza has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at Seaside Finolhu Baa Atoll and .Here Baa Atoll Maldives
Seaside Finolhu Baa Atoll, the Maldives' ultimate island playground, is excited to announce the appointment of Edvena Perpetual D'Souza as its new Director of Sales & Marketing. A seasoned leader in the luxury hospitality space with a long-standing connection to the Maldives, Edvena brings a blend of global experience, commercial expertise and creative energy to her new role. She will also lead Seaside Collection's upcoming ultra-luxury resort .Here Baa Atoll in the same capacity. Edvena joins with over 25 years of international experience in luxury hospitality, having held senior leadership roles at some of the world's most prestigious hotels, resorts and private islands. Her strategic insight, commercial acumen and relationship-driven approach have consistently delivered outstanding results in ultra-luxury environments. At Finolhu and .Here she will lead the global sales and marketing strategy, crafting bold experiential campaigns, and strengthen the resorts' presence across key international markets. Before joining Finolhu, Edvena held the position of Executive Director & Co-Founder of Genesis Collection, a highly regarded hospitality consultancy based in Dubai. Prior to that, Edvena was entrusted with leading the Sales & Marketing divisions of two of the most iconic and ultra-luxurious private island destinations in the world: Velaa Private Island, Maldives, and Laucala Island, Fiji, a 3,500- acre, 85% self-sustainable private island, where she oversaw all global commercial activities and played a pivotal role in positioning the respective properties. As part of her broader portfolio across the Middle East, Europe & Asia she spent 14 years with FHRI Hotels & Resorts, leading five Fairmont & Raffles openings as well as the successful launch of St. Regis Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi. In her new role at Finolhu and .Here Baa Atoll, Edvena will lead the global commercial strategy across sales, marketing, branding, PR and distribution. Her focus will be on strengthening brand equity, driving sustainable revenue growth, and further positioning both resorts as leaders in the next generation of luxury island experiences.
